National Homebrew Club Ireland

Hi All,

Following the success of our brewday back in May, we're gauging interest in making our September meet another Saturday brewday down at the Hudson.

Possible dates are 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th, so please vote on a day that suits you best. The sooner we decide on a date, the sooner Matthew can get in touch with the guys at the Hudson to confirm it's a go-er.

Also, if you could start thinking of what we could brew; a nice nut-brown Autumn ale, a thick bodied porter for the winter nights, or a balls-out hopped to hell IPA to fly in the face of the seasons.

Probably be the same setup as before, i.e. 32L or thereabouts, and split her 3-4 ways depending on who wants to  condition it, try different yeasts, dry hop, infect, etc.

So start voting and start thinking. I can only do the 21st and 28th and my vote is for a nice autumn ale with fuggles and styrians in the mix somewhere. But, being a boring, approaching middle-age, brown-jumper-wearing old fart, I would say that.


Cheers,

-Barry

21st or 28th for me. Should be good craic!

A nice brown ale would be really good, maybe a porter...but it may be a bit heavy on the grain bill.

Can't make any of these dates but a brown ale would definitely be my choice. Would be interesting to see how different yeasts would affect that style of beer.

28th for me PAYDAY  :)

will try my best to get down to this but might have footy match

ANy ideas on a rough time for it all?

Quote from: belfastbrewer on September 08, 2013, 08:20:43 PM
ANy ideas on a rough time for it all?

If I remember correctly from May we shot for an 11am kick-off but it was closer to 12 or 1 by the time we were mashing in. Noon seems like a decent time to aim for this time around. Wouldn't want to leave it much later, given that the days are getting shorter.

If you've got plans on the Saturday I'd still encourage you to drop in when you can, at whatever stage. The beauty of brewing is there's always plenty of waiting time that can be used for drinking, introductions, drinking,  sharing tips & advice, drinking, comparing techniques and, of course, drinking; we're brewing in a pub after all :)

Speaking of the Hudson, we were down there for a sneaky pint on Thursday afternoon and there's a lot of work going on in the yard at the minute. Matthew, I think it'd be wise to check with the Michaels that we're not going to be in the way of the joiners, plasterers, feng shui gurus, etc. We don't want to see hilarious scenes of men with long planks on their shoulders turning round and inadvertently knocking equipment, brewers, or the wrong choice of hops into the boil.

If you took the poll results at face value it would mean we've only 3 definites for the current front runner of the 28th. I'm guessing there's more interest than that but to keep things moving I'm going to end the poll on Thursday or Friday and then get definite names for the winning date, and also who can bring what in terms of equipment and ingredients.

Cheers,

-Barry

still waiting to hear back form michael s. have been waiting for a bit. will be down there on fri and will look out for him

So you've had a few brew days in the last while and already they have made so much extra wonga that they can now afford a makeover!

Way to go the Belfast Home Brewers!!

Hi Chaps, I'm keen for Septembers meet, need to check dates with SWMBO so I can be there for a good stretch.

Are we also bringing the cider for competition/review?

Also got a Golden ale and pimped stout to bring along.

Cheers
Andy

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Quote from: BrewBilly on September 10, 2013, 07:28:16 AM
Hi Chaps, I'm keen for Septembers meet, need to check dates with SWMBO so I can be there for a good stretch.
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Good man. Try and make a day out of it. It can be loosely defined as 'work', if you need justification.

Quote
Are we also bringing the cider for competition/review?

I hadn't thought about it. I'll have to defer to other Belfast members on this one. I'd, ahem, encourage you to bring a sample along regardless. If the stuff you brought to the June meet is anything to go on it'll be a good 'un.

Quote
Also got a Golden ale and pimped stout to bring along.

Nice one. All samples are heartily encouraged. There's so much waiting about in this hobby :)


Cheers,

-Barry

Great, I'm in for the 28th - got the all clear from SWMBO.

brew day and seeing everyone again is going to be cracking

Cheers
Andy

So after some delay I've finally gotten round to ending the poll. Looks like Sept 28th is the winner by a landslide (if the land in question was a low grass verge or a small rockery). 14th is looking a little dubious at this stage.

Next steps are for me to contact the Hudson to confirm the date and formulate a recipe that we can tweak and agree on. Then we can work out who brings what for the brew day.

I'm assuming that the idea of a nice brown Autumn'y ale is still the forerunner, but this could change based on your replies.

I think a 3 (or 4 max) way split is the most realistic in terms of taking home to ferment, so please state here if you'd prefer to take 8-10L home with you to yeast, dry-hop & pimp in any way you see fit.

I can provide base malt (& a little crystal) and a few odds and ends of bittering hops (Target, Galaxy, Magnum, Chinook, etc - I'm out of Goldings or Fuggles, the sort of flavour/aroma hop needed for the suggested brew; need to do a big order soon) so if anyone can contribute then please let me know.

Was it around 32L: we did the last time, Matthew? - in which case we may need your gas & boiler, maybe even your mash tun. I can bring hose & copper coil & hlt & other things we think we might need.

Cheers,

-Barry

Sounds good man! We're thinking of doing something like this at home soon - would be interested to see the recipe.

Great to see your beer on tap at RDS chris/Sub82

I'll try and get down to this at some stage depending if im off or have footy match

Okay. I had a quick go on Beersmith and came up with the following as a provisional base recipe.

Maybe we could add a little Styrian or something else with a little fruity twist at flameout.

I put Target as the bittering hop, but I have some Bramling Cross I'm trying to use up, so maybe use that instead, or possibly Magnum or Chinook.

Anyway, just something to get us thinking:


Recipe: Belfast Brewers BBC#2
Style: Special/Best/Premium Bitter
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 36.30 l
Post Boil Volume: 33.80 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 32.00 l   
Bottling Volume: 32.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 26.9 EBC
Estimated IBU: 29.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                                      Type          #        %/IBU         
5800.00 g          Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (5.9 EBC)                  Grain         1        93.5 %       
300.00 g            Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (236.4 EBC)     Grain         2        4.8 %         
100.00 g            Chocolate Malt (886.5 EBC)                       Grain         3        1.6 %         
20.00 g              Target [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min               Hop           4        21.9 IBUs     
30.00 g              Goldings, East Kent [5.49 %] - Boil 15.0    Hop           5        6.4 IBUs     
20.00 g              Fuggles [4.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min                 Hop           6        1.4 IBUs     
1.0 pkg              Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml]          Yeast         7        -             


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 6200.00 g
----------------------------
Name              Description                                  Step Temp  Step Time     
Mash In           Add 15.22 l of water at 73.5 C       66.7 C        60 min       

Sparge: Fly sparge with 27.28 l water at 75.6 C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheers,

-Barry

barry, any word frm hudson?

tube gave me bunch of bram cross for our next club brew- can use those if we want

u can use my equiment no worries

im still concerned as to how we will chill it though

I can see about getting my wort cooler up. There's bound to be a hose tap in the yard somewhere

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the offer of equipment & hops. I think I said in an earlier post that I can bring my cooler & hose down with me. I've an attachment for regular taps too. And I see Iain has also volunteered his, so we won't be stuck. That's why I was suggesting hops at flameout i.e. cool to 80 degrees and steep for 20 mins or so.

Re the Hudson; I was on a training course all day Mon and Tue so will have more time to phone them at various points of the day today.

Cheers,

-Barry

sweet- i think we had difficulty finding a hose last time outside- thats why i mention it

Quote from: matthewdick23 on September 18, 2013, 09:39:08 AM
sweet- i think we had difficulty finding a hose last time outside- thats why i mention it

Ah, I see. Well, I have an attachment to connect the hose to a regular tap so maybe we can use something like. If we can persuade the punters to re-use their glasses, the bar will have less to wash and therefore less need for water :)

-Barry

Quick update:

I'm just off the phone to Michael Vint from the Hudson and he says that, while he still needs to confirm with the other Michaels and Johnny, he can't see a problem with us holding the brew day there on the 28th.

I'll let you know when I get final confirmation, then we can start getting a head count.

Cheers,

-Barry

Hi Folks

I can bring some Crystal Malt and some Fuggles hops, just shout.

Really looking forward to the day, trying to get some mates that have started HB down to meet you lot (not sure if thats a good idea though lol)

Cheers
Andy

Quote from: Il Tubo on September 22, 2013, 09:02:47 PM
Is there something on on the 28th (other than this :))?

Checking hotels on the off chance that I might get a reprieve, but nothing's available.

Our local church is holding its Autumn fate the same day. Unless it's that...


-Barry

The Tattoo is on, and of course Bazzas fate ;)

Hi guys and girls... Totally new to this site/forum. Would love to meet up and see how the experts brew. I haven't brewed for 10 years and have only now started again

Is there a meeting on the 28th at the Hudson ?

Thanks

Matt

Quote from: Mattyblade1 on September 23, 2013, 01:39:44 PM
Hi guys and girls... Totally new to this site/forum. Would love to meet up and see how the experts brew. I haven't brewed for 10 years and have only now started again

Is there a meeting on the 28th at the Hudson ?

Thanks

Matt

Hey Matt,

Welcome to the forum. So what are you brewing after your 10-year absence?
Yep; there's a brewday at the Hudson this coming Saturday (still to be 100% confirmed but I've been assured it'll be fine). Hoping to start from 12ish onwards. Everyone's welcome. Just drop in when it suits. We'll not be going anywhere for a few hours.

Quote from: Il Tubo on September 23, 2013, 10:52:11 PM
Got a reprieve.

Hey Shane. Good to see you maintaining your 100% attendance record at our brew days. Nice one!

Quote from: BrewBilly on September 21, 2013, 07:21:47 PM
I can bring some Crystal Malt and some Fuggles hops, just shout.

Crystal and fuggles would be perfect Andy. I can bring the pale, the chocolate and some form of bittering hop. I think between Matthew and myself we have the equipment sorted.

You got a fermenter you want to bring along for a share of the brew?



-Barry

Thanks Bazza... Really looking forward to Saturday so I can get a few tips from the experts. Having not brewed for 10 plus years has got me more keen than ever...

I,m now brewing a Canadian Blonde and adding the below.

500g light spray malt
500g of dextrose
400g of local light honey just to hopefully give a little sweetness ( just testing at this stage )
113g of Halletau leaf hops.

Is all being done in a Young's Fermenter, so it will be interesting to see. Have just bottled my first brew, but it won't be ready to bring on Saturday unfortunately.

I'd be to nervous to have anyone drink it anyways as its my first.

Do I need to bring anything on Saturday to help out ?

Thanks

Matt

barry- is sat confirmed?

im in dublin for bjcp but ur more than welcome to borrow equipment- only cost u a 6pack of the beer ;-)

Quote from: Mattyblade1 on September 24, 2013, 04:18:45 PM
Do I need to bring anything on Saturday to help out ?

Hi Matt. No real need to bring anything at this point. Although a thirst is generally a useful thing to bring to these meets :)

Quote from: matthewdick23 on September 24, 2013, 05:03:30 PM
barry- is sat confirmed?

im in dublin for bjcp but ur more than welcome to borrow equipment- only cost u a 6pack of the beer ;-)

Hi Matthew. I tried to get final confirmation today but all the Michaels are in Scotland till tomorrow. The guy I spoke with, Ryan, said he could see no issue, as did Michael V last week. I think it's safe to assume that Saturday's a go-er, though I'll keep badgering the Hudson in the meantime.

Equipment-wise, if we're doing  a 32L brew we would need to borrow your boiler and gas setup. However, if we're only going to split the brew 2 ways then we could reduce to a 23L boil and just use my electrical equipment.


WHICH RAISES THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

Is there anyone out there keen to take a share of the brew home to pitch and condition their own way?
It'd help us decide how big a brew to do and therefore what equipment to bring.

32L we could split 3 ways (4 at a stretch).
23 L we could split 2 ways.

Also, any suggestions on tweaks to the recipe??



Cheers,

-Barry

nps- just let me know.

Baz, I would be keen to join in splitting the brew. Let me know if there is anything other than the crystal malt and fuggles that I can bring.

Cheers
Andy

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Thanks, Andy. Think that's us sorted for ingredients.

There's one other thing - would anyone be able to bring a no-rinse steriliser solution like Vidiene or similar? I only have VWP, but think it'd be handier if we had the no-rise for the fermenters.

Also, anyone else wanting to split the brew?

So our definite headcount so far for Saturday are:

Andy
Shane
Matt
Iain?
Dave (aka DRankin)
BelfastBrewer (football permitting)
Barry

Am I missing anyone?

Cheers,

-Barry

I'll be down!

i have videne. i leave for dublin friday afternoon- could leave stuff at side of house for u barry if you want?

Only have VWP myself... Count me in to be there though

Quote from: matthewdick23 on September 25, 2013, 11:21:01 AM
i have videne. i leave for dublin friday afternoon- could leave stuff at side of house for u barry if you want?

Cheers, Matthew. Might try and get down to you on Thursday for whatever, though the boiler & gas seems not to be needed unless there's more interest in a bigger batch.

-Barry

Got a call this evening from Johnny from Hudson and it's all systems go for Saturday's brewday :)

-Barry

Okay, so unless anyone replies before this evening with a strong desire for a cut of the brew, we'll plan to do a 23L brew using my electric boiler setup and split it 2 ways between Andy and myself. But there'll be plenty of bottles of the finished brew appearing in subsequent Friday meets over the coming months (assuming it turns out okay, that is).

I'm planning to be down the Hudson before 12 on Saturday and hoping to mash in before 1. Probably just do a 1-hour mash like before, as I've no way of getting my brewfridge down there to keep it warm for 90 mins.

A 1-hour boil will do us too.


I'll bring my boiler, hlt, mash tun and sparging setup, cooler, hose and fermenter.
I'll also be bringing pale malt, chocolate malt and bittering hops.
It goes without saying that I'll be bringing a huge thirst, and only a small portion of that will be for knowledge  ;)

Andy, you still okay to bring crystal malt, goldings, fuggles and your (empty) fermenter?

To anyone else coming along, please feel free to bring along any sample brews, ingredients, or equipment that you want to show off. There'll be plenty of time during the brew for chat, drink, arm wrestling and comparing whippets.

I'm intending to make up a washed Nottingham yeast starter on Saturday morning to pitch when I get home Saturday evening, but if anyone feels like donating a yeast or other finishing hops to either half of the split brew then please let me know.


Think that's most things covered. See you all on Saturday :)


@GetErBrewed  - Do you think you'll be able to make it down any time on Saturday for the proceedings? I remember you expressing an interest when we spoke at the Hilden Festival.

-Barry

Barry,

We are off to Germany for the weekend, so we can't make it on this occasion, if you guys need anything for the brew just drop me an email, I'll sort it out for you.

Regards

J

Bazza - Yes I am still ok for the crystal malt and fuggles. I will also be down at about 12 to give you a hand.

I am not sure which yeast to use, got some US-05, could possibly pop into upper newtownards road and see what else they have, possibly S-04 or other???

If anyone else has a yeast they would like to try I am open to options - I dont fancy winsor ale yeast, I wasnt to pleased with how it settled in the bottles.

I also have samples of Cider , Pimped up Stout, and Golden Ale.

Proposed discussion at the meeting: A club cider competition to be held next year some time.

Cheers
Andy

Hi All,

Really sorry to land this on you, but I just got word this evening of the death of a close family friend.

The funeral's on Saturday morning in Scotstown, Co. Monaghan, so there's no way I'll be able to make the brew day.

I was going to bring a fair bit of equipment down to the Hudson on Saturday, so I was wondering would anyone else be able to fill in, to make the brewday go ahead? I could try and lend out some stuff but there'll be a very tight window to do this as I'm heading down the country pretty soon after work tomorrow for the wake, but let me know and we'll see what we can do. I can also re-post the recipe, scaled down to 23L.

I really hope we can still make Saturday happen but if we can't I think it's only fair that I let the guys at the Hudson know.

Cheers and once again apologies.

-Barry

Hi Bazza

Sorry to hear about your friend.

I dont think I would be completely comfortable taking on a whole brewday as I havnt done my own 1st AG brew yet and so propose postponing the brewday until October - let me know your thoughts? Unless someone else steps in to oversee the brewday I will then be able to lend a hand. Another proposal is to still let the meeting go ahead but just to have some drinks and sample some homebrew?

Cheers
Andy

Bad news about your mate Bazza. Sorry to hear the news...

I'm keen to go down and have a chat and sample if that's what's the census is...

Everyone's thoughts ???

I think giving it a skip is probably for the best.

Sorry to hear of the loss Barry

Hi guys. Thanks for all the kind words. Feel bad for letting everyone down, but  it's one of those situations where it'd be bad form not to go to the funeral.

Judging by the responses it looks like we'll have to postpone the brew day. I'll start a thread for a new date in October. I'm conscious of the time changing at the end of October, so we can't push it out too late.

Andy has suggested turning tomorrow into a regular meet, for samples and the like. Would that be a go-er?

Anyway, thanks again.

-Barry

I rekon it is, I will be there at around 12ish as planned to meet and greet - the only problem which is easily rectified is a HBC Shirt

Cheers
Andy

Barry,

Sorry for your loss...chat soon

Hi Barry - really sorry for your loss.